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| Port of Call-Ponta Delgada, Portugal-July 3rd |
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| A nice place to chill and soak the old style atmosphere and a coffee |
Three days out of Belfast, Northern Ireland and a good way out into the Atlantic Ocean we made a quick stop in Ponta Delgada, on the island of Sao Miguel, the largest city of the Azores Islands, territory of Portugal. The group of islands making up the Azores is volcanic in origin and covered in lush green foliage, picturesque lakes and bays and other natural beauty. |
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| In the center of town, where everything was a nice walking distance from everything else |
Our main diversions for the day were short hikes in the mountains rising out of the long, narrow Island of Sao Miguel, a visit to a school for the handicapped and otherwise just a relaxing and pleasant walk about the city, which though having a population of 130,000 still brimmed with old-town charm, narrow cobblestone streets and grand Catholic architecture. Particularly enjoyable were the small cafes, where even in a country of Euro-currency, one could still find a nice lunch of coffee and croissant sandwich for about 1.5 Euros. |
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| Yazan going the distance for us |
Departing Peace Boat was Yazan Al-Khalili, our International Student from Palestine. After endless tears and goodbyes from the many friends made among participants and staff, Yazan finished with a brilliant run down the kilometer-long break-water as Peace Boat sailed out of Ponta Delgada harbor. |
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| The Ponta Delgada waterfront as we sail off to Cuba
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After lunch of meat, potatoes and Guinness, we headed
off to a community center located in a lower-class Catholic neighborhood
next to a Peace Wall and interface In the neighborhood of small slightly
run-down brick town houses, vacant lots and loitering young people
we could see that economics is not absent as a factor in the conflict
in Northern Ireland. The community center aimed to help neighborhood
families in with babysitting, sports activities for kids, various
kinds of education from business to computers and whatever might possibly
be provided in a time of need. Conspicuously standing over the community
center was a Peace Wall on which in a mural was written Breaking Barriers.
The area separated by the Peace Wall was known as an Interface In
other words, like we would see throughout Belfast in the following
day, the wall was erected to keep separated communities where violence
often broke out, thus the term Interface. The ironic and evasive vocabulary
gave hint to the depth that violence and conflict has become a part
of society and life. |
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| Peace Boat's
37th Voyage |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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